Cain gets rare April win as Giants beat Diamondbacks
SAN FRANCISCO -- Matt Cain won in April for the first time since 2012.
The right-hander doubled in the fifth inning to spur a go-ahead, three-run rally as the San Francisco Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-2 on Wednesday night at AT&T Park.
After a shaky first inning in which he allowed a leadoff triple and his only run, Cain (1-1) wound up surrendering five hits in five-plus innings. He struck out six and walked three. The veteran improved to 1-9 over his last 19 April starts.
The victory over the hot Diamondbacks (7-3) meant the Giants (4-6) avoided dropping a third consecutive series to start the season for the first time since 2007.
The Diamondbacks got to Cain early. A.J. Pollock led off the game with a shot into right-center field for a triple and promptly scored on David Peralta's sacrifice fly.
Cain walked two in the inning and seemed heading toward another disastrous April start, but he settled into a nice rhythm.
Cain took matters into his own hands in the bottom of the fifth, spurring a three-run Giants rally. He brought the crowd to life with a one-out double to left-center field and then came charging home as Denard Span lined a single to center on a 3-2 pitch from Shelby Miller.
Brandon Belt walked and Hunter Pence poked an opposite-field RBI single to right to give the Giants a 2-1 lead. After Brandon Crawford struck out, Conor Gillaspie singled in Belt.
The Giants added three more in the seventh, on Nick Hundley's double and Jarrett Parker's two-run triple.
Arizona's final run came in the eighth, when Jake Lamb scored on a single by Brandon Drury.
Miller (1-1) allowed three runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.
NOTES: The Giants gave a minor league contract to veteran OF Melvin Upton Jr., who was released by the Toronto Blue Jays at the end of spring training. He hit 20 home runs last season -- most of them with the San Diego Padres. ... The Giants had a moment of silence before Wednesday's game in honor of Mirian Ortiz Cepeda, wife of Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda, who died Wednesday morning at 62. ... Giants 2B Joe Panik, C Buster Posey and two-time winner SS Brandon Crawford received their 2016 Gold Glove Awards in a pregame ceremony. ... Giants manager Bruce Bochy says Posey, beaned in Monday's home opener, is feeling better, but it will be a few days before he will be full steam. Posey is on the seven-day concussion disabled list.